8,224 research outputs found
RAVEN: a GUI and an Artificial Intelligence Engine in a Dynamic PRA Framework
Increases in computational power and pressure for
more accurate simulations and estimations of accident scenario consequences are driving the need for Dynamic
Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) [1] of very complex models. While more sophisticated algorithms and
computational power address the back end of this challenge, the front end is still handled by engineers that
need to extract meaningful information from the large amount of data and build these complex models.
Compounding this problem is the difficulty in knowledge transfer and retention, and the increasing speed of
software development. The above-described issues would have negatively
impacted deployment of the new high fidelity plant simulator RELAP-7 (Reactor Excursion and Leak
Analysis Program) at Idaho National Laboratory. Therefore, RAVEN that was initially focused to be the
plant controller for RELAP-7 will help mitigate future
RELAP-7 software engineering risks. In order to accomplish such a task Reactor Analysis
and V
Improved Term of the Muon Anomalous Magnetic Moment
We have completed the evaluation of all mass-dependent QED
contributions to the muon , or , in two or more different
formulations. Their numerical values have been greatly improved by an extensive
computer calculation. The new value of the dominant term is 132.6823 (72), which supersedes the old value 127.50 (41).
The new value of the three-mass term
is 0.0376 (1). The term is crudely estimated to
be about 0.005 and may be ignored for now. The total QED contribution to
is , where 0.02 and
1.15 are uncertainties in the and terms and 0.85 is from
the uncertainty in measured by atom interferometry. This raises the
Standard Model prediction by , or about 1/5 of the
measurement uncertainty of . It is within the noise of current
uncertainty () in the estimated hadronic
contributions to .Comment: Appendix A has been rewritten extensively. It includes the 4th-order
calculation for illustration. Version accepted by PR
Sixth-Order Vacuum-Polarization Contribution to the Lamb Shift of the Muonic Hydrogen
The sixth-order electron-loop vacuum-polarization contribution to the
Lamb shift of the muonic hydrogen ( bound
state) has been evaluated numerically. Our result is 0.007608(1) meV. This
eliminates the largest uncertainty in the theoretical calculation. Combined
with the proposed precision measurement of the Lamb shift it will lead to a
very precise determination of the proton charge radius.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures the totoal LS number is change
The 10 to the 8th power bit solid state spacecraft data recorder
The results are summarized of a program to demonstrate the feasibility of Bubble Domain Memory Technology as a mass memory medium for spacecraft applications. The design, fabrication and test of a partially populated 10 to the 8th power Bit Data Recorder using 100 Kbit serial bubble memory chips is described. Design tradeoffs, design approach and performance are discussed. This effort resulted in a 10 to the 8th power bit recorder with a volume of 858.6 cu in and a weight of 47.2 pounds. The recorder is plug reconfigurable, having the capability of operating as one, two or four independent serial channel recorders or as a single sixteen bit byte parallel input recorder. Data rates up to 1.2 Mb/s in a serial mode and 2.4 Mb/s in a parallel mode may be supported. Fabrication and test of the recorder demonstrated the basic feasibility of Bubble Domain Memory technology for such applications. Test results indicate the need for improvement in memory element operating temperature range and detector performance
Accuracy of Calculations Involving Vacuum-Polarization Diagrams: Muonic Hydrogen Lamb Shift and Muon
The contribution of the single electron-loop vacuum-polarization
diagrams to the Lamb shift of the muonic hydrogen has been evaluated recently
by two independent methods. One uses the exact parametric representation of the
vacuum-polarization function while the other relies on the Pad\'{e}
approximation method. High precision of these values offers an opportunity to
examine the reliability of the Monte-Carlo integration as well as that of the
Pad\'{e} method. Our examination covers both muonic hydrogen atom and muon
. We tested them further for the cases involving two-loop vacuum
polarization, where an exact analytic result is known. Our analysis justifies
the result for the Lamb shift of the muonic hydrogen and also resolves the
long-standing discrepancy between two previous evaluations of the muon
value.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure, title and abstract change
Evidence of Luttinger liquid behavior in one-dimensional dipolar quantum gases
The ground state and structure of a one-dimensional Bose gas with dipolar
repulsions is investigated at zero temperature by a combined Reptation Quantum
Monte Carlo (RQMC) and bosonization approach. A non trivial Luttinger-liquid
behavior emerges in a wide range of intermediate densities, evolving into a
Tonks-Girardeau gas at low density and into a classical quasi-ordered state at
high density. The density dependence of the Luttinger exponent is extracted
from the numerical data, providing analytical predictions for observable
quantities, such as the structure factor and the momentum distribution. We
discuss the accessibility of such predictions in current experiments with
ultracold atomic and molecular gases.Comment: 4 pages, 3 EPS figures, Revtex
Isolated effective coherence (iCoh): causal information flow excluding indirect paths
A problem of great interest in real world systems, where multiple time series
measurements are available, is the estimation of the intra-system causal
relations. For instance, electric cortical signals are used for studying
functional connectivity between brain areas, their directionality, the direct
or indirect nature of the connections, and the spectral characteristics (e.g.
which oscillations are preferentially transmitted). The earliest spectral
measure of causality was Akaike's (1968) seminal work on the noise contribution
ratio, reflecting direct and indirect connections. Later, a major breakthrough
was the partial directed coherence of Baccala and Sameshima (2001) for direct
connections. The simple aim of this study consists of two parts: (1) To expose
a major problem with the partial directed coherence, where it is shown that it
is affected by irrelevant connections to such an extent that it can
misrepresent the frequency response, thus defeating the main purpose for which
the measure was developed, and (2) To provide a solution to this problem,
namely the "isolated effective coherence", which consists of estimating the
partial coherence under a multivariate auto-regressive model, followed by
setting all irrelevant associations to zero, other than the particular
directional association of interest. Simple, realistic, toy examples illustrate
the severity of the problem with the partial directed coherence, and the
solution achieved by the isolated effective coherence. For the sake of
reproducible research, the software code implementing the methods discussed
here (using lazarus free-pascal "www.lazarus.freepascal.org"), including the
test data as text files, are freely available at:
https://sites.google.com/site/pascualmarqui/home/icoh-isolated-effective-coherenceComment: 2014-02-21 pre-print, technical report, KEY Institute for Brain-Mind
Research, University of Zurich, et a
Narrow-Angle Astrometry with the Space Interferometry Mission: The Search for Extra-Solar Planets. II. Detection and Characterization of Planetary Systems
(Abridged) The probability of detecting additional companions is essentially
unchanged with respect to the single-planet configurations, but after fitting
and subtraction of orbits with astrometric signal-to-noise ratio
the false detection rates can be enhanced by up to a
factor 2; the periodogram approach results in robust multiple-planet detection
for systems with periods shorter than the SIM mission length, even at low
values of , while the least squares technique combined with
Fourier series expansions is arguably preferable in the long-period regime. The
accuracy on multiple-planet orbit reconstruction and mass determination suffers
a typical degradation of 30-40% with respect to single-planet solutions; mass
and orbital inclination can be measured to better than 10% for periods as short
as 0.1 yr, and for as low as , while
is required in order to measure with similar
accuracy systems harboring objects with periods as long as three times the
mission duration. For systems with all components producing
or greater, quasi-coplanarity can be reliably
established with uncertainties of a few degrees, for periods in the range
yr; in systems where at least one component has
, coplanarity measurements are compromised, with typical
uncertainties on the mutual inclinations of order of . Our
findings are illustrative of the importance of the contribution SIM will make
to the fields of formation and evolution of planetary systems.Comment: 61 pages, 14 figures, 5 tables, to appear in the September 2003 Issue
of the Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacifi
The resting microstate networks (RMN): cortical distributions, dynamics, and frequency specific information flow
A brain microstate is characterized by a unique, fixed spatial distribution
of electrically active neurons with time varying amplitude. It is hypothesized
that a microstate implements a functional/physiological state of the brain
during which specific neural computations are performed. Based on this
hypothesis, brain electrical activity is modeled as a time sequence of
non-overlapping microstates with variable, finite durations (Lehmann and
Skrandies 1980, 1984; Lehmann et al 1987). In this study, EEG recordings from
109 participants during eyes closed resting condition are modeled with four
microstates. In a first part, a new confirmatory statistics method is
introduced for the determination of the cortical distributions of electric
neuronal activity that generate each microstate. All microstates have common
posterior cingulate generators, while three microstates additionally include
activity in the left occipital/parietal, right occipital/parietal, and anterior
cingulate cortices. This appears to be a fragmented version of the
metabolically (PET/fMRI) computed default mode network (DMN), supporting the
notion that these four regions activate sequentially at high time resolution,
and that slow metabolic imaging corresponds to a low-pass filtered version. In
the second part of this study, the microstate amplitude time series are used as
the basis for estimating the strength, directionality, and spectral
characteristics (i.e., which oscillations are preferentially transmitted) of
the connections that are mediated by the microstate transitions. The results
show that the posterior cingulate is an important hub, sending alpha and beta
oscillatory information to all other microstate generator regions.
Interestingly, beyond alpha, beta oscillations are essential in the maintenance
of the brain during resting state.Comment: pre-print, technical report, The KEY Institute for Brain-Mind
Research (Zurich), Kansai Medical University (Osaka
The theory of canonical perturbations applied to attitude dynamics and to the Earth rotation. Osculating and nonosculating Andoyer variables
The Hamiltonian theory of Earth rotation, known as the Kinoshita-Souchay
theory, operates with nonosculating Andoyer elements. This situation parallels
a similar phenomenon that often happens (but seldom gets noticed) in orbital
dynamics, when the standard Lagrange-type or Delaunay-type planetary equations
unexpectedly render nonosculating orbital elements. In orbital mechanics,
osculation loss happens when a velocity-dependent perturbation is plugged into
the standard planetary equations. In attitude mechanics, osculation is lost
when an angular-velocity-dependent disturbance is plugged in the standard
dynamical equations for the Andoyer elements. We encounter exactly this
situation in the theory of Earth rotation, because this theory contains an
angular-velocity-dependent perturbation (the switch from an inertial frame to
that associated with the precessing ecliptic of date).
While the osculation loss does not influence the predictions for the figure
axis of the planet, it considerably alters the predictions for the
instantaneous spin-axis' orientation. We explore this issue in great detail
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